Rab landed just outside the Lestrange manor and he walked up the path to the front door. He knocked three times with the doorknocker and almost instantly, the door opened wide. A small house elf stood off to the side, permitting Rabastan into the manor. Rab stepped inside and looked around; it'd been nearly a month since he was last here. And he couldn't stop the flood of memories that resurfaced in his mind. He smiled, thinking of that night and glad that it had happened. If only he could keep Bella safer longer….
"Can Dinky take your clock, sir?" the house elf asked, holding out his hands. He seemed to be trembling.
Rab looked down at the house elf, feeling almost sorry for the creature. He seemed frightened to be in the house, but Rab understood that it was sometimes hard to keep control over them and they needed to keep their place below wizards.
Shaking his head at the elf, Rab stepped away from him. "No," he said. "Rod and I will be leaving soon."
"Master is in his study, sir," Dinky said. "Dinky will walk you there."
Rab let the house elf lead him to Rod's study. The house elf announced himself and Rab and waited until Rod's voice boomed through the door for them to enter. Dinky held open the door for Rab, who stepped into the expensively furnished study.
"Hello, Rab," Rod said, smiling and looking up from the paper he was reading. He folded it up and placed it on the desk, standing up. He walked around the desk. "How are you?"
Rab nodded. "I'm great," he replied. "Yourself?"
"Excellent," Rod said. "Ready to go? I need to stop to see Cygnus… I trust you don't mind making a pit stop there?"
Rab shook his head. "Not at all," he said, grateful that he could get his letter to Narcissa. "I'm actually quite interested in meeting the last daughter of Cygnus and Druella. She's very beautiful in the pictures I saw. I only met her briefly at your wedding with Bellatrix…." Everything he was saying was a lie, except for the last part. He wasn't interested in meeting Narcissa again; only to give her the letter from Bella was his business with her.
Rod raised his eyebrows and folding his arms across his chest. "You've met her other times, Rab," he said, studying his younger brother. "Besides, she's engaged to Lucius Malfoy, as you were informed before. And she's very much in love with him, might I add."
Rab shrugged. "What's love, Rod?" he asked. "She's only sixteen; she has no clue what she wants." Inside, it hurt Rab to talk about Narcissa like this. He was just thankful it wasn't Bella he was saying such things about. He might have not been able to control himself.
Rod laughed. "Good point, baby brother," he said. He winked. "We'll find you a wife. A nice, quiet housewife to raise a family."
Rab forced a smile. Rod was an ass. He should just take him out right here. But he couldn't. Rab took a deep breath. "Should we get going?" he asked, disregarding the subject of potential mates. He let out his breath when Rod nodded and walked from the room without another word on the matter as well.
Once they excited the Lestrange manor, they both apparated to the Black house. Rab was slightly nervous as they approached the house. He hoped that he could deliver this letter discreetly. The brothers ascended the steps and walked to the large front door. Rab stood behind Rod as his older brother knocked on the door.
***
Normally, a house elf would answer the door. But, through the frosted glass, Rab saw a girl with blonde approaching the door in a hurried pace. She swung the door open and then frowned. She sighed and then backed up, allowing the gentlemen into the house. She shut the door behind them.
"Narcissa," Cygnus' voice rang out from down the hallway, though he sounded close.
"Yes, Father?" Narcissa called back, stepping around Rod and Rab. She nearly crashed into her father as she rounded the corner.
"Ladies do not answer the door," he reminded me and Narcissa lowered her head, looking down at the ground. "And, if a lady *does* answer the door, she most certainly does not rush to do so."
Narcissa nodded. "Yes, Daddy," she said in a small and then stepped away from her father. She glanced back at Rab and Rod. She offered them a smile. "Hello, Rodolphus. Hello, Rabastan. How do you do?"
She was sweet. But too trained. Rab felt sorry for her; she was almost like a dog. But here she stood, hands clasped in front of her, smiling at the two older gentlemen, though she looked terribly depressed.
"I'm very well," Rodolphus said, stepping up to his sister-in-law. He bent down to kiss her cheek. "I hope you're well, Narcissa?"
Narcissa nodded, flashing him a big grin. "Very well," she replied. "It's nice to have a break from my—"
But Rodolphus turned away from her to greet Cygnus. Narcissa's lips were still parted, as if she was going to continue, but then she closed her mouth. Her eyes followed Rod as he and Cygnus walked slowly, already deep in conversation, down the hallway. Rab recognized the glare on her face; it was much like the one that Bella got when she spoke, or thought, about Rodolphus.
Seeming to remember that she had male company in her presence – and unattended, at that – Narcissa looked back to Rab with another small, forced smile. She nodded curtly at him and then began to back away. She turned on her heel and headed out of the foyer. This was Rab's chance. He quickly rushed to the end of the foyer and looked down in the direction of where Narcissa was headed, which was in the opposite direction of Rod and Cygnus.
"Narcissa!" Rab hissed, glancing over his shoulder. He hoped neither Rod nor Cygnus could hear him. *"Narcissa!"*
Narcissa faltered in her steps and paused. Rab called out to her again and she slowly turned around, looking around the hallway, as if she was expecting someone else besides Rab to be calling after her. Rab beckoned for her to come toward him and she did hesitantly, a questioning, but curious look on her face.
"Can I help you with something, Rabastan?" she asked in a normal tone.
Rab winced and raised his hand in the air and then made a motion of moving in downward, telling her to lower her voice. Narcissa stepped closer to Rab.
"I have something for you," he said and the blush that rose in Narcissa's face did not go unnoticed.
Narcissa stepped back from Rab, now looking slightly afraid and concerned. She glanced behind Rab and then back at him. "I'm sorry," she said. "But, Mr. Lestrange, I'm too be married to Lucius Malfoy. I really shouldn't be alone with you in such close proximity. And I shan't be accepting any gifts from you." She continued to back away from him.
Rab followed her, but Narcissa only backed up faster. "Wait!" Rab whispered, raising his voice only slightly. Narcissa did as she was told, but looked upset. She kept glancing behind Rab. "It's from Bella…."
Her blue eyes landed on Rab's brown ones. Her body was still and she stared at Rab with a blank expression. Then, she brought her hand to her face, covering her mouth and nose. Rab saw her eyes glistening and then watched as the tears began to fall down. She stepped up to Rab once more.
"Is she okay?" she asked, her voice shaky.
Rab nodded. "I can't say much," he said, glancing over his shoulder again. He pulled out Bella's letter from inside his cloak and handed it to Narcissa. "This is from her." Narcissa took the letter tenderly, stared at it and then looked up at Rab. Suddenly, she flung her arms around his neck. Rab was caught off-guard, but wrapped his arms around her tiny frame and patted her back.
Narcissa pulled away and looked slightly embarrassed. Her eyes were dry now. She smiled genuinely at Rab. "Thank you," she whispered. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. Then, with another blush, she spun around and sprinted toward the stairs.
Rab smiled as he watched her hurry up them. He turned on his own heels and headed to the study where Cygnus and Rod awaited.
Closing the door behind her, Narcissa flung herself down across her bed and began tearing at the envelope in which the letter arrived in. Her heart fluttered in her chest as began to read the words wrote by the person she missed the most. Halfway through the letter she could feel tears build on her eye lids. She missed Bella, but hadn't known the whole story.
Rod had beat Bella and now Narcissa knew everything. Anger built in her as she read and reread the words. Why would someone hit her sister? Cissa could not understand this. She knew Bella had a temper, but also knew-temper or not- Rod didn't have a right to hit her. Did he? Narcissa had yet to know the norms and rules of marriage, but knew she would not tolerate physical abuse, would she?
Her mind ran in circles as she pressed a delicate hand against the written words. She wanted to see her sister. The letter was nice, but she wanted to hold Bella in her arms and for Bella to hold her. "Rabastan?" She thought coming across the section in the letter where Bella had written that Cissa could trust the person she received the letter from. "What does he have to do with Bella? He doesn't even know my sister. Does he?" Narcissa felt so confused he head began to hurt.
Narcissa sat up slowly, straightening out her dress over her lap and looking down at the letter again. She re-read it once more, looking for any clues. She was a smart girl, very observant. After all, it was hard to not notice things – simple things – when one was told to keep their mouth closed unless being talked to. One then developed a keen eye and an intelligent brain, which is opposite of what men wanted. Narcissa had learned that from her mother.
Maybe Narcissa could pry the information out of Rabastan. Or maybe, just maybe….
Smiling to herself, Narcissa slide from her bed and pulled on her shoes. She grabbed her cloak, stuffed her wand and the letter into the pocket and then headed down the stairs again. She headed to the sitting room, where she knew her mother was. The sliding door was open only a crack and Narcissa peered. Her mother was sitting down reading, with a cup of steaming tea in front of her.
Narcissa gently curled her fingers around the door and slid it back. Druella looked up as Narcissa pushed the door open. She smiled at her mother.
"Hello, darling," Druella said easily. She returned Narcissa's smile and then closed her, setting it down on the table in front of her. She grabbed her tea and took a small sip.
"Hi, Mummy," Narcissa said sweetly as she stepped into the room. She walked up to the sofa where her mother was sitting.
Druella looked up at her youngest daughter, still smiling. Narcissa placed her left hand on the arm of the sofa and then bent down to kiss her mother. When she pulled back, Druella grabbed her hand from the arm of the sofa and examined Narcissa's engagement ring. Her hands were smooth and cool; Narcissa loved the way they felt.
Narcissa stared at her mother's face as Druella looked at the ring. She had seen it a lot and Narcissa always wondered what her mother was thinking when she examined it over and over. Druella let go of her daughter's hand and looked back up to Cissa's blue eyes.
"Lucius is a wonderful man," she said.
Cissa nodded, her face breaking out into a grin. "He's very wonderful, Momma," she said enthusiastically. "I love him very much. We've invited him to Christmas dinner, correct?"
Druella smiled at Cissa's enthusiasm. She nodded her blonde head. "Yes, dear," she told her youngest child. "We've invited the rest of his family as well."
Cissy frowned and looked down at the ring on her finger. "Oh. His parents, you mean?" she asked, her excited voice gone. Without waiting for her mother to answer, she went on. "I'm afraid they don't like me too much – they think I'm simple-minded."
"tsk, tsk" Her mother responded back as she brought Cissa's eyes up to meet hers. Druella was smirking and Cissa couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth. She then leaned back and looked her daughter up and down. "Are you going out?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.
"I came to ask if it was alright to take a little walk," she lied, feeling guilty. "It's quite nice out today, for a winter day, and I'd like to get some fresh air."
"Of course, darling," Druella replied. "Don't stay out too long – you wouldn't want to catch a cold."
Cissa nodded and then bent down to kiss her mother once more. "Thank you, Mum," she said, standing up. She turned around and headed from the room. When she stepped out of the room and turned to close the door, she took one last look at her mother. She had resumed her reading, looking very peaceful. Narcissa frowned, but then closed the door.
She then headed down to her father's office. She approached it slowly, careful to avoid the floorboards that she knew creaked. She leaned against the wall, turning her head. She could hear muffled voices, but wasn't sure what they were saying. When she heard a chair scrap across the hardwood floor in her father's office, she stopped breathing. Then she pushed away from the wall and headed quickly back down the hallway and into the foyer grabbing her cloak from the coat rack. She opened the front door and stepped outside.
It was somewhat warm outside that day, but it was still winter. Grumbling to herself, Cissa pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and stepped outside onto the porch. Then she descended the steps onto the snowy walk way.
Cissa pulled the cloak closer around her body, trying to give herself extra warmth. She didn't even know if the gentlemen were leaving her house yet and if she was going to be out here too long, then she would just have to head back into the house. She didn't want to because then her plan would fail. She would not let her plan fail. She was going to learn the whereabouts of her sister.
Her plan was to corner Rabastan after he'd left her house. Hopefully Rodolphus would leave Rabastan so Cissa could make her move. If he didn't, then she'd somehow have to get Rabastan's attention, letting him know that discreetly that she needed to speak with him. She looked down at the shoveled walkway, studying the odd placement of each stone. The wind blew and she winced as it pushed up under her cloak, instantly chilling her pale legs. She was tempted to go back into the house. But, as she turned around, she saw the front door open, Cissa jumped behind a large willow tree, peeking out from around it.
Rodolphus and Rabastan stepped out onto the porch. The instant the front door closed, they began to bicker.
A/N: Enjoy!Review=Love!Small problem. I wanted this chapter before Bella's and didn't realize the possible confusion until I revised. I apologize, please don't beat me.